merchant

[ mur-chuhnt ]

noun

1. a person who buys and sells commodities for profit; dealer; trader.
2. a storekeeper; retailer:

   a local merchant who owns a store on Main Street.

3. Chiefly British. a wholesaler.

adjective

1. pertaining to or used for trade or commerce:

   a merchant ship.

2. pertaining to the merchant marine.
3. Steelmaking. (of bars and ingots) of standard shape or size.

Merchant

¹

/ ˈmɜːtʃənt /

noun

1. MerchantIsmail19362005MIndianFILMS AND TV: producer Ismail (ˈɪzmeɪəl). 1936–2005, Indian film producer, noted for his collaboration with James Ivory on such films as Shakespeare Wallah (1965), The Europeans (1979), A Room with a View (1986), The Remains of the Day (1993), and The Golden Bowl (2000)

merchant

²

/ ˈmɜːtʃənt /

noun

1. a person engaged in the purchase and sale of commodities for profit, esp on international markets; trader
2. a person engaged in retail trade
3. (esp in historical contexts) any trader
4. derogatory.
   a person dealing or involved in something undesirable

   a gossip merchant

5. modifier
   1. of the merchant navy

      a merchant sailor

   2. of or concerned with trade

      a merchant ship

verb

1. tr to conduct trade in; deal in

Derived Forms

• ˈmerchant-ˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• merchant·like adjective
• outmerchant noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of merchant¹

1250–1300; Middle English marchant < Old French marcheant < Vulgar Latin *mercātant- (stem of *mercātāns ), present participle of *mercātāre, frequentative of Latin mercārī to trade, derivative of merx goods

Word History and Origins

Origin of merchant¹

C13: from Old French, probably from Vulgar Latin mercātāre (unattested), from Latin mercārī to trade, from merx goods, wares

Example Sentences

Over 40 million buyers now regularly use Shop Pay at these merchants and others on Shopify’s platform to complete their purchases.

From TechCrunch

Several of these firms also offer a range of payments services for merchants.

From TechCrunch

The company provides a marketplace where third-party merchants have the opportunity to reach customers they might not otherwise have had, Bezos said, and Amazon’s success is built on the ability of those sellers to thrive, too.

From Washington Post

The purpose was to not mess up your conversion metrics, but rather to have “automated systems to ensure consumers are getting accurate pricing information from our merchants.”

From Search Engine Land

Like Uber Eats, Drizly teams with local merchants in the markets it services.

From TechCrunch

The Daily Beast spoke to Merchant about the film, dating adventures, and the state of American television.

From The Daily Beast

His father, Hassan, is a carpet merchant with close relations to senior members of the conservative Islamic Coalition Party.

From The Daily Beast

He has a voice not dissimilar in timbre and penetrative ability to the incredibly annoying comedian Stephen Merchant.

From The Daily Beast

She could have auditioned to be the tavern wench or a faerie; instead, she signed on as a merchant, knitting chain-mail bikinis.

From The Daily Beast

Brecht placed his merchant-mother in a dark universe of impossible choices.

From The Daily Beast

They will reach you by the hands of Mr. Mackenzie, a worldly-minded Scotch merchant, but honest as to earthly things.

From Project Gutenberg

Alila has a cousin married to a Chinese merchant in Manila and some time he is going to visit her.

From Project Gutenberg

Harris, the silk merchant, stood among these broken and burnt stones and shivered.

From Project Gutenberg

Departure on the fourth voyage, accompanied by a merchant-ship bound through Torres Strait.

From Project Gutenberg

A young Englishman, a wine merchant, accompanied us in our journey through this sultry valley and was our cicerone.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• broker
• dealer
• exporter
• operator
• retailer
• seller
• shipper
• shopkeeper
• trader
• trafficker
• vendor
• wholesaler